EA turns to the fans to keep The Sims relevant
Early in our chat, The Sims general manager Kate Gorman said the words: 'The speed of pop culture.'
I hadn't heard that particular phrase before. It sounds like a header you'd find on a corporate strategy deck. However, I am familiar with the phenomena it's referring to.
Modern popular culture is moving at quite the pace. It's rapid and chaotic. Moments and fashion trends, music and TV shows… they come and go in the blink of an eye. It's also fractured more than ever. Simply switching social media platforms can throw up an entirely different set of topics and conversations. What's dominating conversation in your world might barely register in someone else's, and vice versa.
This is a challenge for anyone looking to ride the wave of the next pop culture moment or trend. By the time you've noticed, say, 'Brat Summer', it's over before you've had a chance to react. And for The Sims, a franchise that likes to tap into what's hot in the world, it presents an interesting quandary.
"It's a thing we talk about a lot internally," Gorman tells us.
"Trends change faster than they ever have. What is popular today… that trend might be done in two weeks. The speed of transformation in every part of our lives because of technology has changed so much, but pop culture changes even faster. Chappel Roan can come out of nowhere to be this sensational icon… she will be here to stay, but you should be able to reflect that in the game [at the moment]. You shouldn't have to wait for us to create a pack that reflects what is going on. We'll never be able to keep up.
"So from our global perspective, from a pop culture perspective, that is why creators are so important. If you've got an idea and you're seeing it now, you will be able to help put that in the game and play with it. That is what we mean by the speed of pop culture. We really want to make this on-boarding ramp so our games move and evolve as quickly as the world does."
"You shouldn't have to wait for us to create a pack that reflects
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